Apollo and Tajy (A book lost in time)

Raven felt Kol's eyes upon her, and glanced up at him, for the first time realizing the drawn look that his handsome face was beginning to acquire. She felt guilt stir within her. She had been the one to tell him of the map, and now he was out here along for this ride that may very well end with the death of all of them. She couldn't let that happen, and would do anything she could to protect him. She loved him. To love him seemed simply natural now, as though they were meant to be together and force their way through the tragedies and strife together. She felt a faint smile touch her lips, and pressed her palm against his cheek tenderly. "Don't look so worried," she murmured. "What will be, will be." She couldn't ignore her own inner turmoil as a mixture of fear, anxiety, and anger seemed to be trying to rip her from the inside out, but she wouldn't let it show.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Felren, who appeared to be relishing a particularly succulent fruit even while asking an important question. "I... Don't know," she replied, furrowing her brows. "I've never tried from such a distance before. I suppose I must try..." She trailed off, closing her eyes and concentrating in the general direction of the elvish city. She felt a little foolish, until she felt a very faint, but familiar, aura coming from the area. She locked in on the location of it, relieved to find Icefyre, alive and well in the forest. The connection was weak, but enough. Icefyre? she called, and the dragon's reply was swift. Raven, it's about time you've contacted me. The elves have prepared for war and are ready to march. They only await your command. They spoke for a brief while longer, until Raven grudgingly pulled her consciousness away from the dragon's and returned to the campfire. "She said that the elves are prepared for war," she told Felren, blinking a bit to focus once more away from the strange contact. "They're waiting for word from us for the next move."

Alberic managed a smile, but his eyes didn't reflect the movement. "Aye, I've been a bit weary ever since the... Incident," he replied, unable to speak more about the demonesses' attack. "And after you almost... Well, it's just a big change for me, is all. I'm a simple man, raised to do nothing more than live off of what I sow from the land and maybe settle down with a family. All of this talk of warfare and death and magic.... It's just all so foreign. It makes my head hurt just thinking about it." He scratched his head at this point, grimacing. "But don't you worry about me," he added hastily. She was already so weak, especially after the attack, and he wanted to protect her with every ounce of his strength. "I'll be fine once this whole mess is over." If it's ever over....

Terrowin followed obediently after Celo as she left the campfire ('Wot the 'ell, Oi've turned into a bloody dog!' he thought sarcastically, but not sourly), and stopped as she did alongside the bank of the river. After a moment of silence, he glanced at her, and her question caught him completely off guard, to say the least. Between fighting and worrying and fearing for their lives, romance had been hard to concentrate on (although they still had managed to do it somehow). "Interest?" he croaked, then cleared his throat. "Well, Oi... Oi mean, yer lovely, and strong, an' one o' the fiercest fighters Oi've ever met. Ye make me feel honored tae be yer friend, and more, Oi suppose you could say." At this, he winked, but turned sober once more. "Oi have great interest in ye, lass," he murmured. "But Oi don't know if ye return the feeling wholeheartedly."

Felren was pleased enough by Raven's statement to let it drop, keeping to himself and his fruit after a short nod to the woman in recognition of her statement. It was good enough for him to know that they were ready and waiting on their word. It wasn't exactly time for them to be moving any armies out and risk even more exposer. He calmly stood and looked down to Raven. "We've not need for their aid just yet. It will be a shock to the false king that the elves stood against him and we want to keep that to ourselves for as long as possible." He let his statement go at that, turning a bit away from the couple and finding a path to go walking deeper into the forest.

Kol looked to Felren and then back to Raven. "He might not have said it but thank you for contacting your dragon." He kissed her head gently with a tired smile. "I would think it hard to try and speak to her from so far away." He said, laying back against a cool rock. Felren had been a bit testy since Aneria had been saved. It was obvious to see the dislike Felren had for the woman demoness but Alberic had taken such a liking to her and she had done nothing that would prove her a danger. He sighed a bit at the thought of how easily Alberic could attach himself to someone.

Celo tilted her head, one of her blonde pigtails sliding off her shoulder as she did so. She did not understand how one was supposed to react to all of this, how to talk to a man or how he was supposed to talk to her. To say she did not return the feelings wasn't untrue. "I can not say that is a lie..." She bent her head down to look away from him. She assumed that would hurt his feelings. How on Earth was she supposed to convey what she did feel though? "I don't always understand stuff like this but I'm pretty sure I like you..Or else I would not have wanted to kiss you..." She looked up from her spot on the ground to his face to see what reaction he had.

Aneira smiled gently, "I'm going to worry about you because I care." She admitted freely. "You still accepted me after you found out where I am from and that is more than I can ever ask for."

"More than you can ask for, dear daughter?" Came a voice that hissed in the night air seemingly from no where. A sudden chill floated in the air and within seconds ice broke out from everywhere, freezing every person in the camp to their spot. A figure came from the trees and his eyes were locked with Aneria's. He had wide shoulders that adorned heavily laced muscles that went down his arms, chest and back. He wore black armor that somehow glinted in the night light and a large sword on his hip. His eyes were ice blue and the look to them was even colder. A crown seemingly made of glass sat atop his head of soft blue hair that was cut short.

"Father..." Aneria whispered, even without the ice she would have been frozen to her spot, her eyes wide with fear as she saw her father coming towards her. "That's right dear one, it was taking far too long for you to come home so I thought to come see how my precious daughter was doing."

Kol struggled against the ice now caging his body to the ground, not wanting to be separated from Raven and even worse a cold numbness was starting to set in from the ice wrapped around his body. Celo on the other hand was a bit more lucky to have been standing and only up to her knees was frozen to the sand, she stood perfectly still though, not wanting to bring attention to herself or Terrowin.

The man looked around the camp and the people and suddenly bowed at the hip. "My my where are my manners? I've forgotten to introduce myself, I am Dergon, Aneria's father...I see she hasn't mentioned me...I'm hurt." He turned a cold eye on her as he said that and then adressed the group. "You see, Aneria must not have told you why she was here either?"

"No!" She tried to stop him from saying anything, only Alberic knew and he did not even know the entire truth. Oh god.

"Oh, it's true!" He almost sounded excited. "Well..." He turned to Raven this time. "You, little girl have something the King wishes for, something very precious, for which my daughter was to take your life for. And your lover over here, "He nodded to Kol, "Has commited crimes far worse than death can amend...but either way my daughter has failed me, and our people. Far worse than my duties to the king." He growled and walked to Aneria, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at him. "You betrayed your people for him." He looked to Alberic, "So now you will give your life back to your people." As he said that, he pulled Aneria from the ice and bound her, handing her to one of the people he was with.

"If you value your lives, do not come after her, she couldn't be worth it right?" He smiled, and in a short moment he was gone, disappearing into the foliage of the forest. Kol struggled against the ice on his body, trying to free himself to help the others but as the cold seeped into his body so did the fatigue.

Celo bent down with a dagger and began chipping away at the ice on her legs, and looked up to Terrowin, hoping he would do the same. "We have to help them." As if on cue, Felren came from the wooded region he took off in and dropped the firewood he was holding. "What the hell happened?!" He rushed over to Raven, and began breaking at the ice covering her.

Alberic was about to do something dramatic, either kiss Aneria or utter some words he couldn't take back, when an eerie voice penetrated the calmness of the night. He shivered involuntarily, immediately realized who the voice belonged to, though he had never met him before. The shiver turned to a complete shudder as the ice engulfed all but the top portion of his shoulders and head, as he had been sitting on a log when the frost hit. He tried to scream, but found his voice as frozen as his body, and all he could manage was a hateful glare at the man that stood before him. Even in his fright, he managed to stay calm and collected, already trying to think of ways to break free. He had been attacked already the day before; he wasn't about to die now.

However, his mood changed once he realized the demon's true intentions. His eyes widened in horror at his confession to Aneria's true intentions of finding them, and he locked his shocked gaze on her, not believing. "Aneria?" he managed, but it was hardly a cracked whisper. "What does he mean?" He had no idea what Dergon meant about Kol, but that didn't seem important now, not with Aneria in danger. Even the fact that she had been sent to kill his sister didn't seem horrifying - she had saved his life, and had never made any move to harm Raven, even though she certainly would have had the chance numerous times. As the man began to drag Aneria away, the spell that had halted his voice broke. "NO!" he screamed, fighting uselessly against the thick ice that covered his entire being. "DON'T YOU TAKE HER, YOU BASTARD!" But it was no use; in another moment, the demon was gone, and Aneria with him. He screamed again, and the cry was filled with what seemed like an impossible amount of agony. He had almost lost her already; to have her taken again without any fight on his part was beyond cruel. "ANERIA!!!" He began thrashing against his bonds, and even though the ice was thick, the pure force of his will seemed to be making it crack around the edges. If he wasn't careful, he was going to hurt himself.

Terrowin watched the entire ordeal with horror, but followed Celo's example and didn't move, even though the ice barely reached his knees. He felt horrible for Alberic; he had already gone through so much, and to have the woman taken from him so cruelly, to certain death no less... It was hard to watch. When he had gone, the threat still hanging in the air over their heads, he muttered a string of his nastiest curses and began breaking the ice that bound him. "Just wot we need, more bloody 'ell tae go through... He'll never let us leave withou' tryin' tae get 'er back, even though it may be th' death of us all." Before long, he had managed to chip away the ice with his blade to lift his legs up and out, but he still had to be careful not to slip on the sheet of ice that covered the ground. He went first to Alberic, afraid he was going to stab himself with a piece of ice if he kept thrashing around so much. "Calm down mate, Oi'll get ye outta here in no time..." he murmured, and Alberic stiffened, but with difficulty. It took nearly fifteen minutes, but soon he was free as well, and immediately went charging into the woods after the demon, yelling at the top of his lungs. Terrowin let him go; he had no trail, so he wouldn't travel far. He went back to Celo and stared at her forlornly. For once, even his optimistic spirit was spent. "Wot's the use?" he muttered quietly. "We try all we can tae help the world, an' this is wot we get? Wotever gods be watchin' us, they must 'ate us fer reasons Oi can't imagine, 'cause we've sure had the bloodiest of luck..." He trailed off, muttering, and then went over to Kol to help release him. "Estel an' Seren could probably use help too," he called to Celo over his shoulder, but his voice lacked all emotion. He began chipping away at the ice around Kol, hoping that he wasn't too late at the man was going into hypothermia. The last thing they needed was someone else dying.

Raven closed her eyes as her brother screamed. It was what she imagined that Hell would be like, filled with the screams of those in pure agony. She couldn't believe how attached Alberic had gotten to the demoness in just their short time. She knew how protective of her he had been for so many years, and wondered if he had transferred some of that brotherly protection to Aneria as well. Whatever the case, his pain was hers, and she blinked back tears of shock and frustration at being so helpless and useless, encased in ice as she was. She felt her hands and feet begin to go numb, and then her arms and the lower parts of her legs. She started to panic. What if she froze to death? Kol was nearby, but was no help, being in as much danger as her. But soon Felren arrived and began helping her get out, even as the deadly chill crept slowly up her body. "Kol, are you alright?" she called to him, worried. Even though Seren had healed him, she still hadn't gotten over him nearly dying those few weeks ago.

Estel answered Felren's question. "We were ambushed," he stated bluntly, struggling against the ice that had covered his body up to his waist. "An ice demon, came without warning and cast a freeze on us all. He took Aneria with him, said something about her paying for a life..." He stopped talking as a lump rose in his throat. He had begun to like the demon, to be honest, and the thought of her own father killing her was horrid. "I don't care what that Dergon said... We'll have to go after her, or we don't deserve to have this journey bestowed upon us." He nodded to where Alberic had disappeared into the woods. "He won't leave until we do, anyway. It would kill him to know that he was the fault of her death." He reached over to Seren with one of his free arms, not knowing how or if she needed comforting. But it seemed the right thing to do. "Help her first," he told Celo. "I'm fine."

Felren was chipping away at Raven's ice around her as he listened to Estel, "Hang on Raven..." He said, and finally got the last bits of ice of her off of her. He slipped his jacket off and put it around her shoulders. "Paying for what life? What was her crime? I mean demons might be vicious to people but they have a code for themselves from what I can understand." Felren knew he sounded bitter on the topic and there was no point in hiding it from the group no matter their feelings for the demoness. He watched with a soft sigh as Alberic went off running. "He won't find her like that."

Celo looked to Terrowin, he was sad and understandably so, their luck was terrible. Celo wasn't sure if she believed in luck but if there was such a think it really wasn't on their side for whatever reason. She walked over to Estel and was about to help him when he told her to help Seren instead. "If you are sure." She said and moved over to Seren. She was shivering and pale but otherwise seemed in control over herself. Celo started chipping away at the ice. "Are you alright?"

Seren smiled breifly before nodding. "Yes." Like the others numbness was starting to set it but it was nothing she she couldn't handle. She sat still until she was released from the ice. "Remain seated until you have feeling back in your body so you don't fall." She said to Seren and then to Estel as she started in on his ice.

Kol looked up to Felren, thankful he was helping Raven first and not himself, more than willing to wait as he spoke. "He said something about an item Raven has that Aneria was supposed to kill her over and take." He stated, not really sure if he believed it or not himself. Though the look on Aneria's face, the horror, of her supposed father telling the 'truth' was clearly present and something Kol could not deny. "Thank you." He said to Terrowin when he was released and began shaking his arms and hands to get blood flowing back in them.

Felren frowned at Kol explination and then to what everyone was saying. They honestly still wanted to go after the demoness?! "How could you wish to save her? She would have betrayed you sooner or later...they all do." He said darkly, letting more emotion color his voice than he wanted to let on.

With a quiet thanks, Raven gratefully took the coat and wrapped it around herself, shivering in spite of herself. She wasn't normally effected so much by the cold, but the ice had sent a deadly chill to her very bones, and it would take a while before she was well enough to stand again. She didn't speak the thought out loud, but she also wanted to go after Aneria, if only so her brother could rest in peace. There would be no end to his misery if they didn't. "I don't know what he was talking about," she murmured. "I never saw her looking at me any way that I would suspect her to want to hurt me... But maybe my brother's affection was blinding my sense of suspicion." For all she knew, maybe the demoness was only pretending to like Alberic so she could get closer to her. She shuddered at the thought. Her brother did not need heartbreak. She managed to shuffle sideways until she was next to Kol as Terrowin freed him from the ice. She gave him a glance of gratitude before laying her head on Kol's shoulder.

Terrowin nodded back, then sat down next to Celo as the rest of the group was freed from the ice. "Well, if we want tae go after her, where do we even start?" he asked sullenly. "He left wi'out a trace. Oi doubt there's even a trail tae follow." He glanced up as Felren spoke, surprised at the venom in his voice. "Ye sound like ye've had a personal experience, mate," he replied, frowning. "Oi admit that killin' demons is one o' my favorite passtimes, but that doesn't mean that they're all bad. Some are just... Misguided." Aneria hadn't had the usual hint of malisciousness that most demons he came across did, and so he didn't think she was the same as most. Maybe it was possible for them to reject their normal nature, and be a good person, if they wanted it bad enough. Still, she obviously came from a bad family...

Estel kept an eye on Seren to make sure she wasn't suffering from hypothermia or anything from being in the ice, but she seemed fine enough as Celo tapped away at his own bonds. "All demons leave a trace of some sort," he commented dryly. "Usually magical. If you feel around long enough, you'll probably be able to sense where the atmosphere has been disturbed by his presence, especially a demon as powerful as himself." Once he was free, he stood and walked around the camp for a while, both to warm up his body and search for what he was looking for. Finally, he caught a slight trace of magical residue where the demon had been standing a while before, and a very faint trail leading north. The demon was good; he doubted anyone else would have been able to find it, if they hadn't been looking. "It leads that way," he said, pointing in the direction of the trail,"But I don't know if it's worth the risk. We're the only people that have the power to resist the unrightful king.... Can we really risk our lives going after the girl?" He hated to say it, but the need of a nation was more important than the life of a single person, no matter how precious.

"We have to go." Alberic's voice was dead as he appeared out of the brush. "I don't care if you come with me or not, but I'm following after him." The tears that ran down his face were silent now, and his earlier burst of rage and horror was all but gone, replaced by emotionless revenge. He glanced at Terrowin, then his sister. "Leave if you want to. But I won't rest until she is rescued, or I am dead." Without another word, he trudged off in the direction Estel was pointing, too tired to fly, but too determined to stop.

Kol rubbed his hands up and down Raven's back and arms, trying to warm her as they spoke about Aneria. It was true that he had not seen anything out of place with the girl, other than being a demon...but risking their lives to such an extent for her. Kol was someone who believed in trying to save comrades though and would not fight the decision if it swayed yes to go after the girl. "I don't disagree that it would be dangerous, but would it really be alright to leave her? I don't think I could live with the idea of not even trying.." Said said honestly, even if he did not know where the girl had been taken to. The man that had taken her, he seemed confident, powerful and would defiantly follow through on his promise to kill Aneria.

~*~*~*~

Celo listened in on what people were saying, still unsure about the plan they were taking but it seemed that the general vote was to go after her. Though Felren's attitude pointed to a no, the normally emotionless girl thought nothing of it. Perhaps it was logical enough that he did not wish to be killed before we even got to the larger battle. She leaned into Terrowin's shoulder, and sighed gently, not really being one to go for contact first but she wanted it.

~*~*~*~

Seren was impressed that Estle knew how to pick of magical traces, not having any himself and smiled gently at him. She reached to his chest, letting some of her magic flow into him. Even if there were no physical wounds healing magic gave off a warming feeling and would help ease his body back to a normal temperature. "I hope this helps..." She smiled, putting the hand she had on his chest to the side of his face.

~*~*~

Felren watched as Alberic returned to the camp, saying that he was going to find Aneria and pretty much took off over there. "Fool!" He growled, picking up his things and preparing to leave. "He will get us all killed for his little infatuation." It was overly obvious how much against this idea Felren was but he had said he would stay with them and he would keep to his word no matter what. Even if it meant going back there, to the place that gave him the very ideals he currently held against the ice demon race.